NATIONAL VIDEO

24 die on state roads during holiday

A fatal wreck Friday in Dawson County was among the 3,325 crashes statewide that killed 24 people during the 102-hour Christmas holiday travel period.

Timothy Brian Pettyjohn, 19, of Carlton, died after the 1996 Geo Tracker he was driving hit a tree shortly before 7 a.m. Friday, according to an operator at the state patrol post in Cumming.

The final holiday period count was 3,325 traffic crashes, 868 injuries, and 24 traffic deaths, according to the Georgia State Patrol. The estimates for the holiday weekend had been for 2,945 crashes, 1,494 injuries, and 19 deaths.

Like during the Thanksgiving holiday, drizzle over parts of the state kept roads wet and contributed to a higher than expected number of traffic crashes, according to the state patrol.

The holiday period began at 6 p.m. Christmas Eve and ended at midnight Sunday.

The next holiday travel period is the 102-hour New Year’s period that begins at 6 p.m. New Year’s Eve and ends at midnight Sunday. Traffic estimates for that period are for 3,008 traffic crashes, 1,350 injuries, and 20 traffic fatalities across the state.